Review by: dustbunna
Morrison & Mackay, better known for their Carn Mor series, also make a handful of these 46% undisclosed-distillery single malt bottlings from different regions. Kirkwall Bay is their Islands representative, with distillate from Orkney; you get one guess which distillery this is, and the hint is it ain’t Scapa. No age statement, but rumor has it this is approximately six years old.
Distillery: Highland Park (undisclosed).
Bottler: Morrison & Mackay.
Region: Islands (Orkney).
ABV: 46%.
Age: NAS but purportedly 6 years. Bottled in 2019.
Cask type: Refill ex-bourbon.
Price: $39 USD.
Natural Color. Non-chill-filtered.
Bottle open across approx. 4 months, notes taken leisurely across that period. Bold notes taken beneath the shoulder, regular-formatted notes taken further into the bottle past the halfway point, italicized notes taken towards the heel.
Nose: heather, chocolate digestive biscuits, faint smoke, floral and bubblegum notes in the background, some banana, wet stones, chalk, vanilla cake batter.
Palate: medium-thin body ~ very strong mineralic character with river stones, petrichor, chalk, wet grass, some yellow fruits poke through the minerals, brash green-wood smoke, flattens out a bit.
Finish: medium-short ~ more chalk and vitamins, quinine/tonic water, strong floral wave here before it evaporates.
Conclusion: Very simple and elemental baby Highland Park. This feels strongly peated compared to other HPs I’ve tried, possibly due to the near-dearth of cask influence. Similar to The Big Strand (the other undisclosed M&McK I’ve reviewed), the color here is pale like white wine, and while we don’t know what type of casks were used, there’s a good chance they were refill hogsheads that imparted little on the spirit.
I’m not too crazy about whisky with lots of wood influence, and tend to jump at things like this that are more distillate-driven. This whisky is easy, drinkable, enjoyable… but kind of like new make in a way, missing some complexity/engagement to take it to the next level. It showcases some really nice mineralic notes, but that’s about all it shows, and I have to be in the right mood to seek out something moving in such a singular direction.
Final Score: 76.
Scoring Legend:
- 95-100: As good as it gets. Jaw-dropping, eye-widening, unforgettable whisky.
- 90-94: Sublime, a personal favorite in its category.
- 85-89: Excellent, a standout dram.
- 80-84: Quite good. Quality stuff.
- 75-79: Decent whisky worth tasting.
- 70-74: Meh. It’s definitely drinkable, but it can do better.
- 60-69: Not so good. I might not turn down a glass if I needed a drink.
- 50-59: Save it for mixing.
- 0-49: Blech.
Malt Runners 